learning about learning….

With a globalised and thus more diverse workforce, one of the key competencies of today’s worker is to be able to interact successfully with diverse colleagues and customers. Thus, more and more organisations are investing in diversity training programmes. In fact, programs. Internationally,multinational firms are increasingly adopting diversity training programs (Egodigwe, 2005).

Not only should organisations ensure that their employees are equipped with the ability to work alongside with their geographically and culturally different colleagues, even schools and academic institutions should incorporate diversity training into their curricula. This will prepare the students when they join a ‘heterogenous’ workforce in future. The Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business (AACSB) has identified multicultural and diversity understanding as important knowledge in undergraduate business programs (AACSB, 2004). Additionally, accredited schools must support the concept of diversity and show that their curricula prepare students for careers in global contexts (Misra & McMahon, 2006).

Hayles’ (1996: 106) chapter on diversity training in organizational
settings described diversity learning as involving “head (knowledge); hand (behaviors and skills); and heart (feelings and attitudes),” while Gudykunst, Guzley, and Hammer (1996) noted that most organizational diversity training involves creating change in trainees’ cognition, behavior, and affect. Sue et al. (1982) introduced three distinct cross-cultural competencies (knowledge of cultural groups and cross-cultural relations, awareness of one’s own beliefs and attitudes, and skills necessary to work with different cultural groups) into academic counseling programs.

I think the change in our ‘heart’ to want to learn and to make use of our new diversity competencies post- training are more difficult to achieve relative to the acquisition of knowledge and skills. It may presents an even greater challenge to quantify the return on investment from a diversity training programme. Nevertheless, the human capital or similar department should work diligently to convince management of such an investment and produce evidence to show how it has helped improve specific areas in the organisation, be it a more diversity-friendly working environment or higher productivity due to reduced miscommunication.

Reference: Kulik, C.T. and L.Roberson, “Common Goals and Golden Opportunities: Evaluations of Diversity Education in Academic and Organizational Settings”, Academy of Management, Learning & Education 7 no. 3 (Sep 2008)